SAN DIEGO, CA – August 24, 2026 – The Estate Lawyers, APC announced today that attorneys Carl L. Jones, Esq. and Michael C. McDonald, Esq. have been recognized in the 2027 edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America. Mr. Jones was recognized in Litigation – Trusts and Estates and in Trusts and Estates. Mr. McDonald was recognized in Trusts and Estates.
Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America recognizes attorneys earlier in their careers for professional excellence in private practice. Selection is determined through peer review, with attorneys evaluated by other lawyers practicing in the same geographic region and area of law. No fees are accepted for consideration or inclusion.
A Practice Defined by What It Does Not Do
The Estate Lawyers occupies an unusual position in California legal practice. The firm does not draft trusts or wills. It does not prepare estate plans or handle routine, uncontested administration. It litigates, exclusively, over trusts, estates, probate matters, conservatorships, and fiduciary conduct.
That structural choice shapes everything about how the firm works, and it is the reason peer recognition in this particular category carries weight.
Most attorneys who appear in trust and estate disputes arrive there occasionally, pulled in from a transactional or general civil practice when a matter a client already had turns adversarial. At The Estate Lawyers, contested matters are not a department. They are the entire practice. Every attorney at the firm spends the whole of their professional time in probate court and in the discovery, motion practice, and trial work that contested fiduciary matters demand.
The exclusive focus also removes a conflict that is common in this field. Firms that both prepare estate plans and litigate over them can find themselves defending, or attacking, instruments their own colleagues drafted. The Estate Lawyers never has a hand in the document at issue. The firm comes to every matter as an advocate and nothing else.
Because it takes no institutional side in these disputes, the firm represents beneficiaries, trustees, executors, administrators, conservators, heirs, and other interested parties. It has litigated on behalf of the fiduciary and against the fiduciary, for the beneficiary contesting an instrument and for the beneficiary defending one. That range is unusual, and it produces judgment about how these cases actually resolve rather than how one side wishes they would.
This work sits where family conflict and financial complexity meet. The matters The Estate Lawyers handles involve undue influence, questions of capacity, financial elder abuse, breach of fiduciary duty, and contested accountings, often between people who are related to one another and who will remain related after the case ends. California’s aging population and the ongoing transfer of generational wealth continue to drive volume in this area, and the disputes are rarely simple.
Recognition Through Peer Review
Because Best Lawyers® recognition is determined by other attorneys practicing in the same region and area of law, honorees in trust and estate categories are evaluated by the probate bar itself. In a specialized practice area, that pool includes opposing counsel, co-counsel, and the attorneys who appear across the aisle in the same courtrooms.
“Carl and Michael represent the depth of talent we are continuing to build at The Estate Lawyers. They are thoughtful, strategic attorneys who understand the complexity of trust and estate matters and the very real impact these disputes have on the people involved. It is especially meaningful to see that work recognized by their peers.” – Amy Gostanian, Founder and Managing Partner of The Estate Lawyers
Mr. Jones and Mr. McDonald practice from the firm’s San Diego office. Their recognition comes as The Estate Lawyers continues to expand its presence throughout Southern California, with offices in San Diego and Irvine serving clients in complex disputes statewide.
The firm remains committed to advancing the practice of trust and estate litigation through sophisticated advocacy, professional leadership, and the development of attorneys focused on this highly specialized area of law.
About The Estate Lawyers
The Estate Lawyers is a California law firm dedicated exclusively to trust, estate, probate, conservatorship, elder protection, and fiduciary litigation. With offices in San Diego and Irvine, the firm represents beneficiaries, trustees, executors, administrators, conservators, heirs, and other interested parties in complex disputes involving trusts and wills, fiduciary misconduct, financial elder abuse, contested probate matters, conservatorships, and related proceedings throughout California.
For more information, visit https://theestatelawyers.com/.
Media ContactCompany Name: The Estate Lawyers, APCContact Person: Liz CoyleEmail: Send EmailPhone: 949-250-7800Address:3 Park Plaza, Suite 1400 City: IrvineState: CACountry: United StatesWebsite: https://theestatelawyers.com/
